Elections from 2004 refuse to die

Wire Published: June 13, 2006 12:00 AM

COLUMBUS President Bush is almost midway through his second term and Ohio Supreme Court Justice Alice Robie Resnick is in the last months of her final term, but the elections that got them there still are the subject of contention in Ohio courts and political circles.Bushs 118,000-vote victory in Ohio out of more than 5.5 million cast raised a firestorm in 2004 among those who had predicted the Republicans would try to steal the election.Losing Democrat John Kerry conceded the day after the election, convinced he would not receive enough votes when provisional ballots were counted. However, the candidates for the Green and Libertarian parties paid for the votes to be recounted, then took the state to court, saying the recount was mishandled. The lawsuit was dismissed in February.But a case filed by the League of Women Voters claiming Ohios election system discriminates against minority voters still is in U.S. District Judge James Carrs court in Toledo. Secretary of State Kenneth Blackwell, the states top elections official and this years Republican candidate for governor, says the election was run fairly.This month, Robert F. Kennedy Jr.s article in Rolling Stone magazine detailing the 2004 Ohio election rekindled the debate. However, one elections expert said its time to let it go and focus on problems that still could harm Ohio elections.I think its pretty clear, based on the original evidence, the (2004) outcome wasnt affected, said Daniel Tokaji, an assistant professor of law at Ohio State University. Its much less important than focusing on the problems with the election systems ... that havent been fixed yet.The lessons learned in 2004 are valuable as Ohio moves into the electronic voting age, said Cliff Arnebeck, a lawyer who was active in some of the lawsuits focusing on the 2004 race.The framing I have in mind for litigation is to look at what is being set up for 06 and say were not speculating that people are willing to suppress the vote, we have the proof, Arnebeck said. Its a positive view of the evidence of fraud in 04.Peg Rosenfield, elections specialist for the League of Women Voters of Ohio, said her group never challenged Bushs election, just the way it was run.The whole point of our lawsuit was to look toward the future, she said.The states transition into using electronic voting machines, required by federal law, has been marred by glitches, especially in Cuyahoga County, where the results from the May 2 primary were delayed six days when roughly 18,000 absentee ballots had to be hand counted.Lawyers still are trying to work out a settlement in a case prompted by the Resnick election nearly six years ago, which was marked by TV ads paid for by a business-backed group known as Citizens for a Strong Ohio.The ads pummeled Resnick for her votes on insurance and workers compensation cases and others the group deemed anti-business. One showed a female judge changing her vote after a bag of money is dropped on her desk.The ads sparked lawsuits by Common Cause and other advocacy groups that claimed they crossed the line between issue advocacy to election advocacy. Citizens for a Strong Ohio formed as an issue advocacy group and as such was not required to disclose its donor list or their contributions.The Ohio Elections Commission ruled in November the group had operated as a political action committee. That allowed the commission to find violations of making false statements and fined Citizens for a Strong Ohio $100.The group paid the fine but is appealing the commissions finding that should report as a PAC, said William Todd, the groups lawyer. Todd is working with lawyers for the state on a settlement to present to Franklin County Common Pleas Judge Eric Brown.The commission twice has put off approval of a settlement after closed-door meetings with state attorneys. Commission director Philip Richter, who also is the panels lawyer, would not comment on what the commissions concerns are.Todd said the hang-up is because the commission wants to explore all the ramifications of setting a precedent.One of the things the commission is concerned about, and I think rightly so, is they dont want to tie their hands in future matters, Todd said.Resnick, who is the lone Democrat holding statewide office, has said she plans to retire when her term expires at the end of the year.